place only the thorn hedge seemed
threateningly alive, waiting to destroy the intruder who should attempt
to force the secret it guarded.

Who would blame the Prince if for a moment his heart had almost failed
him? There was no gap in that hedge, and the great thorns were sharp as
dagger blades to stab his flesh. But if the Prince hesitated it was not
for long. "Have I come so far to turn back now?" he thought. "These
others who have died were brave men, and though they failed, with a
courage as great as theirs I may succeed." And without wasting another
moment the Prince began to force his way through the hedge.

And now he noticed with surprise that those thorns which looked so sharp
and cruel became soft as thistledown as soon as he touched them, and the
trailing bramble branches did not entangle him but bent aside at his
touch as though they had been stems of grass. The hedge opened before
him, and as he went through it pink blossoms of wild roses bloomed on
the branches, until the tangled wall became a mass of flowers.

At last the Prince found himself on the other side of the hedge in the
gardens of the castle. Before him he could see the high towers and
turrets bathed in the fresh light of the morning sun, and as he hastened
towards them he noticed that the gardens were as trim and tidy as though
they had just been tended by the gardeners. There was no moss or weed
upon the smooth paths, the turf on the lawns was as short and firm as
though it had just been mown, and in the flower-beds everything was in
the most careful order. Spring flowers were blooming there, but they
bowed their heads upon their stalks, and even the trees seemed to hang
their arms as though asleep.

[Illustration]

Everywhere there was the same deep silence. The air, which should have
been full of the twittering of birds, was heavy and languorous. There
was no flutter of butterfly-wings or darting of flies; the fountains on
the lawns were not playing, and as the Prince glanced over the edge of
the marble basin of one of them he could see the goldfish beneath the
water-lily leaves lying still, with never a wave of the tail or flicker
of fin.

[Illustration]

So he went on over the lawns and terraces and never a waking thing did
he see, but when he came to the courtyard he saw a soldier standing
there, leaning on his pike with his head bent upon his chest. At first
the Prince thought that he was dead, but his cheek was fresh and ruddy